Abstract:
For more than a decade, the planning and development of Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) in large metropolitan areas has been the primary focus of ITS initiatives in the United States. In 1991, the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act (ISTEA) provided federal grant money for the ITS deployment planning activities in 75 of the largest metropolitan areas in the U.S. In 1993, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) initiated efforts to develop a National ITS Architecture, which would create the framework for standardizing and linking ITS systems in the U.S. – the focus again being on the development of interoperable systems in large metropolitan areas. In 1996, two additional ITS programs, Operations Timesaver and the ITS Model Deployment Initiative, funded deployment of metropolitan ITS systems. Until recently, the primary focus of ITS in the United States has been on metropolitan deployments. Many small urban or rural communities, observing the type and costs of infrastructure being deployed in metropolitan areas, have been reluctant to adventure into ITS programs. These communities often believe that ITS solutions can not solve their local transportation problems or the systems are too expensive. This paper attempts to remove, or at a minimum reduce, the myths regarding ITS deployment in the rural environment and identify why ITS should be considered in the planning of many rural transportation system projects. Strategies for the deployment of Advanced Traveler Information Systems (ATIS) in the rural environment are explored with a concentration on: innovative practices for using and leveraging existing resources; alternative ATIS technologies; and system deployment, operation and maintenance costs. The paper is based on lessons learned from the deployment of ATIS in small urban and rural communities, with a concentration on the Branson Travel and Recreational Information Program (Branson TRIP).
